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Neutral hydrogen profiles of 67 galaxies in seven nearby clusters have been obtained with the Arecibo telescope. The neutral hydrogen masses of these galaxies range from 2 x 10(exp 8) to 2 x 10(exp 10) M. There is no evidence for significant neutral hydrogen deficiency in any of these clusters.
We present the first self-consistently computed results on the evolution of X-ray properties of galaxy clusters in a cold + hot dark matter (CHDM) model. We have performed a hydrodynamic plus N-body simulation for the COBE-compatible CHDM model with standard mass components: Omega(sub hot) = 0.3, Omega (sub cold) = 0.6 and Omega(sub baryon) = 0.1 (h = 0.5). In contrast with the CDM model, which fails to reproduce the observed temperature distribution function dN/dT (Bryan et al. 1994b), the CHDM model fits the observational dN/dT quite well. Our results on X-ray luminosity are less firm but even more intriguing. We find that the resulting X-ray luminosity functions at redshifts z = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.7 are well fit by observations, where they overlap. The fact that both temperatures and luminosities provide a reasonable fit to the available observational data indicates that, unless we are missing some essential physics, there is neither room nor need for a large fraction of gas in rich clusters: 10% (or less) in baryons is sufficient to explain their X-ray properties. We also see a tight correlation between X-ray luminosity and gas temperature.
We present the results from a photometric monitoring program of 15 open cluster stars and one weak-lined T Tauri star during late 1993/early 1994. Several show rotators which are members of the Alpha Persei, Pleiades, and Hyades open clusters have been monitored and period estimates derived. Using all available Pleiades stars with photometric periods together with current X-ray flux measurements, we illustrate the X-ray activity/rotation relation among Pleiades late-G/K dwarfs. The data show a clear break in the rotation-activity relation around P approximately 6-7 days -- in general accordance with previous results using more heterogeneous samples of G/K stars.
Trigonometric parallaxes for stars in the Praesepe open star cluster are deduced from data collected with the Multichannel Astrometric Photometer (MAP) at the Thaw Refractor of the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory. The weighted mean parallax of five cluster members is +5.21 +/- 0.79 mas (0.00079 arcsec), corresponding to a distance modulus of 6.42 +/- 0.33 mag. We briefly compare this result with that derived earlier for the Hyades and note agreement with the distance found by main-sequence fitting. We also discuss briefly an improvement in the weighting scheme of the centroiding algorithm used in this series.
The combination of the large effective area and the very low internal background of the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter provides an extremely sensitive instrument for the study of diffuse X-ray sources. In this paper we review new results on the X-ray structure of nearby clusters as measured with ROSAT. Substructure is a common feature in these objects. Such structure provides evidence that clusters have formed relatively recently through mergers of relatively large subunits. This behavior is predicted by hierarchical formation theories in a dense universe.
We present a catalogue of surface-brightness profiles (SBPs) of 125 Galactic globular clusters, the largest such collection ever gathered. The SPBs are constructed from generally inhomogeneous data, but are based heavily on the Berkeley Global Cluster Survey of Djorgovski & King. All but four of the SBPs have photometric zero points. We derive central surface brightness, King-model concentrations, core radii, half-light, and other fraction-of-light radii where data permit, and we briefly discuss their use.
We present new U- and I-band images of the centrally dominant galaxy in the Hydra A cluster, obtained with the 2.5 m Isaac Newton Telescope at La Palma. The galaxy is centered in a poor, X-ray-luminous cluster whose gaseous intracluster medium is apparently cooling at a rate of m-dot(sub CF) approximately 3000 solar masses/yr. The galaxy's structure is that of a normal giant elliptical galaxy, apart from the central approximately 8 x 6 arcsec (approximately 12 x 9 kpc) region which contains an unusually blue, lobelike structure that is spatially coincident with a luminous emission-line nebula in rotation about the nucleus. Based on near spatial coincidence of the central continuum structure and the emission-line nebula, we suggest that the blue continuum is due to a warm stellar population in a central disk. In order to isolate and study the structure of the disk, we have subtracted a smooth galactic background model from the U-band image. The disk's surface brightness profiles along its major and minor axes decline roughly exponentially with radius. The disk's axial ratio is consistent with a nearly edge-on thick disk or a thin disk that is inclined with respect to the line of sight. The bluest regions, located a few arcsec on either side of the nucleus (giving the lobelike appearance), may be due to locally enhanced star formation or a seeing-blurred ring of young stars embedded in the disk observed nearly edge-on. If star-formation is occurring with the local initial mass function, the central color, surface brightness, and dynamical mass would be consistent with models for star formation at a rate of less than and approximately 1 solar masses/yr which has persisted for the past approximately 10(exp 9) yr, a short burst (10(exp 7) yr) of star formation at a rate of approximately 30 solar masses/yr which occurred less than and approximately 10(exp 8) yr ago, or an instantaneous burst of star formation which occurred approximately 5 x 10(exp 7) yr ago. While the young population contributes approximately 30%-40% of the central U-band luminosity, its mass would be less than and approximately 1% to less than and approximately 10% (10(exp 8) solar masses - 2 x 10(exp 9) solar masses of the galaxy's central dynamical mass. We consider a number of possible origins for the disk material.
Low-mass binary millisecond pulsars (LMBPs) are born with very small orbital eccentricities, typically of order e(sub i) approximately 10(exp -6) to 10(exp -3). In globular clusters, however, higher eccentricities e(sub f) much greater than e(sub i) can be induced by dynamical interactions with passing stars. Here we show that the cross section for this process is much larger than previously estimated. This is becuse, even for initially circular binaries, the induced eccentricity e(sub f) for an encounter with pericenter separation r(sub p) beyond a few times the binary semimajor axis a declines only as a power law (e(sub f) varies as (r(sub p)/a)(exp -5/2), and not as an exponential. We find that all currently known LMBPs in clusters were probably affected by interactions, with their current eccentricities typically greater than at birth by an order of magnitude or more.
Some open questions in the physics of bow shock formation, the evolution of the particle distributions from solar wind into the magnetosheath, and the acceleration of ions at the moment of the shock are summarized. A layout of the current situation is presented in view of recent theoretical developments and the new diagnostic tools provided by the Cluster mission. The transition of ions across the quasi-perpendicular bow shock and their downstream thermalization are discussed. The processes and spatial scales are found to be species dependent and are discussed for H(+), He(2+), and He(+). The theory of particle acceleration at quasi-parallel shocks are reviewed. It is shown how Cluster can study the time variable structures of the shock as predicted by hybrid simulation. It is emphasized that high time resolution measurement with simultaneous species separation is necessary for the study of the ion acceleration. Suggestions for the spacecraft separations at the bow shock are suggested.
We discuss new constraints on the population of compact ionized sources in the Trapezium Cluster thought to arise from the ionization by the central OB stars of circumstellar disks around low-mass pre-main sequence stars. We present new HST Planetary Camera observations of two of these candidate disk sources, resolving extended nebulosity around them. One source shows a small-scale (greater than 100 AU) bow-shock structure, previously seen on larger scales by O'Dell et al. We show that the circumstellar disk model is the most likely one for the majority of sources, although it remains plausible that some of the larger objects could be equilibrium globules. We combine the most complete censuses of compact radio sources and stars in the core region to derive the fraction of the stellar population that may be associated with a circumstellar disk. Our estimate of 25-75 percent is comparable to that found for PMS stars in the Taurus-Auriga dark clouds, indicating that the dense cluster environment of the Trapezium has not drastically reduced the frequency of disks seen around pre-main sequence stars.
The observations of the 50 Myr old alpha Persei open cluster, performed by the Rosat's position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC), are discussed. The X-ray observations cover an area of about 10 sq deg. A total of 160 X-ray sources were detected. The comparison between the X-ray luminosity distribution functions of the alpha Persei sample and the Pleiades indicated that F and G-type stars in the alpha Persei are more X-ray luminous than their older counterparts in the Pleiades. No significant difference was found between the distributions of the K and M-type dwarfs in the two clusters.
We present the results of a V-band photometric monitoring survey of 15 late-type dwarfs in the young open cluster IC 4665. Low-amplitude periodic light variations are found for 8 stars and ascribed to the modulation by starspots that cover typically a few percent of the stellar disk. Periods range from 0.6 to 3.7 d, translating to equatorial velocities between 13 and 93 km/s. That no period longer than 4 d was detected suggests a relative paucity of extremely slow rotators (V(sub eq) much less than 10 km/s) among late-type dwarfs in IC 4665. The fractional number of slow rotators in IC 4665 is similar to that of Alpha Per cluster, suggesting that IC 4665 is close in age to Alpha Per (approx. 50 Myr).
We have been carrying forward a program to confront X-ray observations of clusters and their evolution as derived from X-ray observatories with observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). In addition to the material covered in our previous reports (including three published papers), most recently we have explored the effects of a cosmological constant on the predicted Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect from the ensemble of clusters. In this report we summarize that work from which a paper will be prepared.
Excessive base heating has been a problem for many launch vehicles. For certain designs such as the direct dump of turbine exhaust inside and at the lip of the nozzle, the potential burning of the turbine exhaust in the base region can be of great concern. Accurate prediction of the base environment at altitudes is therefore very important during the vehicle design phase. Otherwise, undesirable consequences may occur. In this study, the turbulent base flowfield of a cold flow experimental investigation for a four-engine clustered nozzle was numerically benchmarked using a pressure-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. This is a necessary step before the benchmarking of hot flow and combustion flow tests can be considered. Since the medium was unheated air, reasonable prediction of the base pressure distribution at high altitude was the main goal. Several physical phenomena pertaining to the multiengine clustered nozzle base flow physics were deduced from the analysis.
We have analyzed observations for two lensing clusters of galaxies, A1689 and A2218. Our investigations have explored the implications of their X-ray properties for mass determinations both in X-rays and through both weak and strong gravitational lensing. The work on these two clusters is summarized below and copies of the two papers submitted to the Astrophysical Journal and accepted for publication are attached.
An observation of M 87, the central galaxy of the Virgo cluster, was performed in the 0.065 to 0.245 keV energy band by the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE). A central source and an extended emission halo are visible which represent the first detection of a cluster gas emission in the extreme ultraviolet. A gas component with a temperature of between 5 x 10(exp 5) and 10(exp 6) K has to be introduced in order to explain this emission. The rapid cooling of plasmas at such temperatures implies a mass accretion rate of greater than 300 solar mass/yr. Data from Rosat observations provide evidence of an extended central emission at 10(exp 6) K.
The cores of subclusters at redshifts approximately 0.1 were observed by the Rosat high resolution imager (HRI). The analysis of a 26 ksec observation of A 2384, a BM II-III with a cD galaxy are reported on. The cluster appears to be composed of a primary subcluster with a secondary peak. The galaxy distribution suggests a secondary peak at the approximate location of the secondary X-ray peak. The primary and the secondary peak are connected, with the X-ray emission elongated in the direction of the merger axis. The central particle density is 0.01/cu cm, but falls rapidly as a function of the radius. The accretion rate is estimated to be 4 solar mass/yr. Cooling flows must grow appreciably after a merger in order to equal the large accretion rates typical of rich clusters.
Many research projects have been initiated and completed under support of this program. The results are summarized below. The work on the ROSAT Deep Survey has been successfully completed. A number of interesting results have been established within this joint MPE, Cal Tech, JHU, ST ScI, ESO collaboration. First, a very large fraction, 70-80 percent, of the X-ray background has been directly resolved into point sources. We have derived a new log N-log S for X-ray sources and have measured a source density of 970 sources per square degree at a limiting flux level. Care was taken in these studies to accurately model and measure the effects of sources confusion. This was possible because of our observing strategy which included both deep PSPC and HRI observations. No evidence of a population of narrow emission line galaxies has been established but some evidence for the evolution of low luminosity AGN (Seyfert galaxies) has been reported. The work on the ROSAT All Sky Survey Northern Cluster Survey has been substantially concluded but the publication of the list has been held up by the need to analyze newly re-calibrated data. This should result in publication over the next year. During the past year we have submitted a paper to the Astrophysical Journal which utilized a sample of clusters originally selected from the ROSAT All-sky survey at redshifts greater than 0.3. This sample was studied with ASCA to determine temperature and luminosity.